Lanterns review: Superheroes gone green on HBO

HBO's new series 'Lanterns', premiering on JioHotstar from August 17, introduces Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and his trainee John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) as intergalactic police on Earth. The eight-episode show, created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King, follows the odd-couple pair investigating alien activity in Rushville, Nebraska. Hindustan Times reviews the series as a tongue-in-cheek superhero comedy that subverts genre expectations, with Chandler's Hal described as charmingly insubordinate and Pierre's John as solid superhero material.

Actors Poorna Jagannathan and Garrett Dillahunt, who play mysterious characters Zoe and William Macon, told Times Now that the series undermines every rule of the superhero genre. Dillahunt called it a gritty, True Detective-style series with superpowers. Jagannathan said her character's twist in the premiere subverts expectations, adding that while core Green Lantern elements remain, everything around them is subverted. New episodes release every Monday at 6:30 am on JioHotstar until October 4, 2026.